The St Abb's Head Reel
Scottish Country Dance Instruction
The St Abb's Head Reel (R8x32) 3C (4C set) Ruary LaidlawA 32 bar reel for 3 couples in a four couple set.
1 - 8 First and second couples dance right hands across for four steps once round.
First couple cast off into second place and turn with the left hand to finish in second place, while second couple lead up for two with right hands joined and then turn with the right hand to finish at the top of the dance facing out ready to cast off into...
9-16 The first three couples dance Symmetrical Reels of Three on the side giving nearer hands to partners where possible.
First couple begin by dancing in and down.
Second couple begin by casting off from the top of the dance and then in allowing the third couple to pass through between them first. Third couple begin by dancing out and up, then in, in front of the second couple.
Second and third couples finish the reels by casting round ready for...
17-24 Circle round and back for the first three couples
25-32 First couple dance a full figure of eight up round the second couple above them, finishing in second place ready to start again.
(Dance crib compiled by the deviser, Ruary Laidlaw, 1998)
Dance Notes
This dance, The St Abb's Head Reel, was devised as a relatively simple dance that involves only Skip Change of Step and Symmetrical Reels of Three.Dance Information
St Abb's Head is a rocky promontory by the village of St Abbs in Berwickshire, Scotland, and a national nature reserve administered by the National Trust of Scotland.St Abbs is a small fishing village on the southeastern coast of Scotland, within the Coldingham parish of Scottish Borders.
The village was originally known as Coldingham Shore, the name St Abbs being adopted in the 1890s. The new name was derived from St Abb's Head, a rocky promontory located to the north of the village, itself named after the 7th-century Saint Æbbe of Coldingham.
Saint Æbbe of Coldingham, also called Tabbs, (c. 615-683) was an Anglian abbess and noblewoman. She was the daughter of Æthelfrith, king of Bernicia from c. 593-616. She founded monasteries at Ebchester and St Abb's Head near Coldingham in Scotland.
The Rocky Coast At St Abb's Head
Published in The St Abb's Head Reel, reproduced here with the kind permission of the deviser, Ruary Laidlaw.
Dance information licensed under this Creative Commons Licence 3.0.
Text from this original St Abb's Head article on Wikipedia.
Text from this original St Abb's article on Wikipedia.
Text from this original Saint Æbbe Of Coldingham article on Wikipedia.
Image copyright Russel Wills under this Creative Commons Licence 2.0.
Back to the top of this Scottish Country Dancing Instructions 'The St Abb's Head Reel' page